SUVA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Over 60 Fijians have died in UN peacekeeping missions across the world over the past four decades, said Fijian President Jioji Konrote on Saturday.
Delivering his statement on the Fiji-UN 40th anniversary on peace keeping, Konrote said that considering Fiji's small population of more than 880,000, the number represents one of the biggest losses of life amongst all peacekeeping nations.
He also said that currently Fiji has 882 peacekeepers deployed on eight missions overseas, which includes the Fiji Military Force, the Fiji Police Force and the Fiji Corrections Service.
According to Konrote, Fiji has one of the world's smallest militaries and this commitment represents a significant contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security and at any given time, half of Fiji's military is either deployed overseas or training to replace those deployed overseas.
He said that the reputation of Fijian peacekeepers is based on the highest standards of professionalism and honor and the need to strive for the highest standards of discipline and personal ethics is paramount.
Fiji's first 500 peacekeepers were deployed to Lebanon in June 40 years ago.
